Cannabis traffickers are making a quick buck at the Jhenaidah and Chuadanga districts as demands for illegal drugs has risen in recent weeks, amid allegations of lax security at the border points.
Smugglers became active on the occasion of the closely-timed Durga Puja and Eid-ul-Azha – two of the biggest festivals in the country – and apparently made Kotchandpur upazila their trading hub.
Kotchandpur lies between the Kaliganj and Moheshpur upazilas of Jhenaidah and the Jibannagar upazila of Chuadanga district and thus constitutes a “strategic zone” for the drug peddlers, said an official at the police department.
“The town being situated close to India is considered an ideal place for trading drugs such as cannabis and phensedyl. There are several drug cartels active there,” the official, who wished to remain anonymous, said.
Kotchandpur police on Thursday arrested two drug peddlers named Hossain Ali and Babu Ali, both residents of Prakatnager village in the Daulatpur upazila of Kushtia. About 10kg cannabis, popularly known as ganja, was recovered from their possession.
Police said they first nabbed the peddlers around 11am and then, based on their confessions, seized the substance from a rickshaw van.
The arrestees were sent to a Jhenaidah prison after a case was filed with the Kotchandpur police station in this connection.
According to local sources, the reasons behind Kotchandpur town being a trading point for drugs have to do with its strategically important location—being very close to the border with India—and lax monitoring of the police and border guards.
From here, smugglers can operate their business in the surrounding areas including Kaliganj and Jhenaidah sadar upazila, as well as Darsana, Jibannagar and other parts of Chuadanga.
However, the commanding officer of Chuadanga camp of the Border Guard Bangladesh Lieutenant Colonel Gazi Mohammad Asaduzzaman ruled out allegations of lax monitoring.
“BGB is very active in curtailing drug trades and arresting those active in the business.”